Gardening Tip

Summer Garden secrets. What is the secret to a beautiful summer garden? Is it the number and size of the plants? Could it be the type of pots and grandeur of your garden decor? The answer may surprise you.

I love Spring Gardening. I love spring. The birds, green hills and the smell of pittosporum throughout Montecito. And, of course spring gardening. I’m not one of those gardeners who likes everything matching, neat and clean. My garden is like an old shirt, lived in and comfortable. What is your favorite part of spring gardening? I always plant a veggie garden and a cutting garden and can’t wait for the first harvest, the bouquets of flowers and the fun. Join me.

Drought got you and your garden down? Follow these 5 simple rules and you can have a beautiful garden that doesn’t need much water and you will be able to stay within your water allocation. Read on for all details.

The big question on everyone’s mind seems to be how to stay within your water allocation. Here in Montecito, there is mandatory water rationing and it can be expensive if you go over your allocation. The reality is sinking in that El Nino 2016 may not give us the drought relief we had hoped for. Despite the fact that Northern California has seen significant rainfall, we are a long way from recovery. And now with this heat wave, there is no rain in sight. Here’s the step by step on how to stay within your water allocation.

Which are your essential gardening books? We all need good garden reference books, no matter our experience as gardeners and if you are like me you have lots of them; for reference, landscape design ideas or when searching for solutions to specific problems. However, if you are moving to a remote location, desert island or planning a lunar colony, or if you just want to become a better gardener, there are two essential gardening books everyone should have. I couldn’t live without these two. Let me know if you agree.

Oprah’s Rose Garden is legendary. When she moved to Montecito a few years back, she elicited the help of Dan Bifano, one of the worlds most sought after master rosarians. To give a clue as to the volume of his talent and skill, he not only designed and installed the rose garden for Oprah Winfrey but for Barbara Streisand as well. Dan was also involved in the creation and selection of the namesake roses for Oprah (The Legends rose) and Ms. Streisand (Barbara Streisand Rose). Not long ago, I spent some time chatting with Dan about rose-pruning, here are his top 4 pruning tips.

Rain, at last! Finally, for the first time in years, we are having a real rain storm and it’s time for a celebration. As of noon Tuesday, we have received an inch and a half of rain since it started last night. Does this mean that El Nino is here? Keep your fingers crossed that this is only the beginning…Find out how to prepare your garden for El Nino.

Happy New Year and welcome 2016! Can you believe that it is the eve of 2016? Wow! The New Year is a good time to reflect on days past and to focus on goals for the year ahead. For me, my garden is a good place to start.

Happy Holidays from everyone at Montecito Landscape. It’s been quite a year and I can’t believe 2015 is already at an end. The holidays are a good time for both you and your garden to get a bit of a rest. Okay, maybe you won’t be getting much of a rest, with all the shopping, cooking and partying, but your garden should.

About Us

Bringing Montecito to life in every garden

It’s about the joyous celebration of space, air, color, texture, light and shade. Under the 40+ year knowledge base of master landscaper Chris Cullen, Montecito Landscape has been the premier team preserving our local beauty.